Trials of Child Rearing
by pictureswithboxes
Summary: Sequel to Making A Miracle


Mira would be lying if she were to say that witnessing Erza's pregnancy had prepared her for her own. Though she was certain that her wife was slightly bitter about her lack of morning sickness and ability to digest more than just eggs. When Mira jokingly brought it up, Erza had gone completely pale and nearly dropped Simon in her shock.

"W-what are you talking about?!" Erza asked, adjusting Simon in her arms and pulling away from his grasp when he tried to pinch her.

"I was just joking, Erza!" Mira laughed, cupping her abdomen gently. "I know you'd never feel that way."

"Oh." Erza's cheeks turned bright red before turning her head toward Simon and kissing the top of his head.

"And of course you're glad that I don't have the same morning sickness problem as you, right?"

Erza nodded and set Simon down, allowing him to run around the living room and grab the toy truck he'd been eyeing for a few minutes.

"They're kicking." Mira grinned, grabbing Erza's hand and pressing it against her stomach. "Feel it?!"

Erza smiled softly before kneeling down and pressing her other hand onto Mira's stomach. "This is amazing." She murmured.

* * *

A scream reverberated through the walls of the house causing Erza and Mira to jump out of their bed and sprint into the hallway where the children were supposed to be sleeping. Erza threw Simon's door open and the two of them burst in, trained eyes scanning around for any disturbance. Mira was the first to relax when she all she saw was Simon standing on his bed with his tail between his legs. Literally.

"Why do I have a tail!?" Mira tried not to laugh when her son managed to squeak out the question, while Erza merely frown and furrowed her brow.

"I guess you inherited my Demon Soul magic." Mira replied, taking a few steps into the bedroom and sitting at the foot of Simon's bed. "Sit down, I'll explain it to you."

The seven year old boy nodded and plopped down beside his mother, his big brown eyes still filled with tears, his messy light red hair was spiked up from the accidental spell casting, and Erza was sure that his ears were pointed now. Mira wrapped an arm around her son and pulled him closer to her, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of his head and murmuring some soothing words. As the child began to relax, his tail faded away, and his features slowly returned to normal.

"Erza, go check on the others, please?" Mira mumbled, rubbing Simon's back soothingly. "They're probably scared stiff."

As if on cue, two pairs of rapid footsteps could be heard from the hallway, causing the other three to look up. They watched expectantly for a few seconds before their eyes widened at the children before them.

A boy and a girl around the age of five stormed into the room. They were wearing crude armor made from pillows and each wore a lampshade on their head as some sort of makeshift helmet. The boy was slightly shorter than his sister with the same scarlet hair and features as Erza, but Mira's dark blue eyes, which happened to be filled with confusion and worry. The girl was slightly thinner than her brother with long, light red hair that matched Simons and light blue eyes. She stood with her chest puffed out and a determined look on her face as she took a couple steps into the room.

"What happened?" The little boy asked, waving a baseball bat around.

"We heard a scream!" The girl elaborated. "And we checked on Hana, and she's still asleep."

Mira laughed and Erza cracked a grin before kneeling down and picking up both the children. "Everything is fine, Simon just accidentally cast a spell in his sleep."

"Really?!" The little girl asked, her eyes lighting up. "That's so cool! Right, Starke?!" She looked at her twin brother.

"Yeah!" Starke nodded, looking back into Simon's room as Erza started to carry them back to their room. "Is Simon gonna be okay?"

"He'll be fine, he's just shaken up." Erza entered their bedroom and set each twin down on their respective beds before taking the lampshades off their heads and putting them back where they belonged. "Can you please put your pillows back on your beds now?"

"It was Magie's idea!" Starke muttered, ripping the pillow from his chest and tossing the tape on the floor before flopping onto the bed face first.

"Well the helmets were yours!" Magie replied irritably as she pulled her blanket up to her chin.

"You're dumb!"

"Shut up."

"Stop it." Erza sighed, gently tucking the twins in and kissing each of them on the forehead. "Go back to sleep."

Starke and Magie both groaned but allowed Erza to turn out the light and leave.

Erza walked down the hall, only to bump into Mira, who was closing Simon's door quietly.

"Is he alright?" Erza asked as they both headed to their youngest daughter's bedroom.

"He's fine." Mira sighed, bumped her shoulder against Erza's gently. "I'm going to talk to Elfman tomorrow and ask if he can help me train Simon a little bit."

"Enough to stop him from growing a tail in his sleep?" Erza smiled, opening Hana's door for her wife.

The room was dark, save for a small nightlight in the corner of the room, slightly illuminating the young girl who was asleep. She was no more than three years old with short white hair, which matched Mira's almost perfectly. There was a spray of freckles over her nose and cheeks. Hana stirred a little before sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Is everyone okay?" She yawned, her soft brown eyes boring into her mothers'. "I heard a scream and then Starke and Magie stormed in and hit Ducklas with a bat." She gripped her stuffed, purple duck with a huff.

"Simon accidentally cast a spell." Erza sighed, watching as Hana nodded and laid back down.

"Oh." Hana allowed Mira to tuck her in again. "Why were Starke and Magie wearing lampshades?"

Mira laughed and kissed her youngest child on the forehead. "They're just silly."

Hana yawned and closed her eyes, her nose crinkling when Erza kissed her on the cheek.

"Sorry for waking you." Erza said as she and Mira left the room.

"She is already so much like you." Mira laughed as soon as the door closed.

"What are you talking about?" Erza's brow furrowed.

Mira just shook her head and led Erza back to their bedroom. Erza flopped gracelessly onto the bed, glancing at the clock on the nightstand with a sigh. It was two in the morning, and Erza had to go out on a job in the morning. Simon really had strange timing.

* * *

It was raining when Starke and Magie were hurrying home from the guild, where the two of them were forbidden to go when neither of their mothers were there. It was rare that neither of them were at the guild, but Erza was away on a job and Mira had to go off with Simon and Elfman for some type of training that neither of them were allowed to attend until their magic manifested. If their magic manifested.

Starke was still shorter than Magie was. His hair had grown out considerably, mostly due to the fact that he fought vehemently against allowing haircuts of any kind, even if Lucy's celestial spirit had the 'perfect look' in mind for him. Despite still being shorter than Magie, who was two and a half minutes younger, his posture was so impeccable that he looked taller.

Magie kept her hair cropped short with her light red bangs that fell over her left eye. She had a cowlick in the back of her head, causing her hair to stick up at an odd angle. Unlike her brother, Magie managed to inherit both Mira and Erza's natural charisma and grace, making her seem almost angel like when she entered a room.

"Hana's totally gonna tell Mom if she finds out that we were hanging out at the guild!" Starke grumbled, opening the door for his sister.

"Well it's not my fault that Mom had to go off with Simon today!" Magie replied, stomping into the house and kicking her shoes off.

"Maybe if your magic would manifest, you'd be allowed to go with them." Hana stepped into the hallway with her hands on her hips.

She was nine years old now and her white hair had grown out and was held back by a bright pink ribbon. Her brown eyes were narrowed as she gave her older siblings a glare on par with her both her mothers'. She was shorter than the both of them, but managed to hold herself in a way that made her seem taller.

"Well it's not our fault that you and Simon are freaks!" Starke growled, shaking his head toward his little sister and splattering her with water.

"Didn't Mom and Mama get their magic when they were our age?" Hana smirked, crossing her arms and walking away.

"You're just being mean to be mean!" Magie slammed the door shut and stomped into the house completely.

"I'm not the one who went to the guild instead of studying like MOM told us to!" Hana said, her voice calm.

"You're not gonna tell are you?" Starke whined, his brow furrowing and his eyes shining with fear.

"That depends…" Hana paused and looked at her older siblings with a devilish glare. "Am I going to do dishes at all this month?"

"… No?" The twins replied together.

"Good." Hana ran up the stairs and toward her bedroom. "Mom should be home in an hour!"

* * *

"Will you both STOP fighting?" Erza grumbled, separating a thirteen year old Starke and Magie with a scowl on her face.

"I can't help it!" Starke grumbled, struggling against his mother's grip. "She's always copying me!"

"Not true!" Magie snapped, making an attempt to lunge at her brother and transforming her left arm into a metallic one and throwing a punch toward her brother.

"They're so childish." Hana sighed as she entered the room with Simon at her heels.

Simon tall for his age and had a lanky build. His light red hair was cut short in the back, but long enough in the front for him to have bangs, which were swept from his face. He kept one hand in the pocket of his dark pants while the other adjusted his scarlet cravat, tucking it into his black vest.

"Don't forget that you're younger than them." Simon replied. His voice had a natural calming effect, causing most of those around him to be soothed just by his words.

"Age has nothing to do with maturity." Hana crossed her arms and looked at her older brother. "Just look at Uncle Natsu."

Some of her freckles had faded by now and she was a head shorter than her eldest brother. Her long hair fell over her shoulders in waves, though she still had her signature pink bow in her hair. Despite her soft, girlish voice, her words still held a venomous bite to them whenever she needed them to.

"Don't make fun of Uncle Natsu!" The twins both growled before turning to glare at each other. "Stop copying me!"

"Enough." Erza commanded, her voice harsh before setting the twins back down. "Go to your rooms, and not one peep until your mother gets home!"

"But-"

"Am I understood?"

The twins each hung their heads and mumbled affirmations before trudging up the staircase.

"Did you two have fun shadowing Asuka?" Erza asked after she heard both doors slam.

Hana nodded, a large grin spreading over her features. "It was amazing!" She replied happily.

"We got done relatively quickly." Simon added, the corner of his mouth turning up and forming a small, crooked smile. "Asuka is certainly a talented mage."

"She said that we were really helpful and invited us to go with her again." Hana continued, puffing out her chest.

Erza smiled softly and opened her arms for her children to each give her a hug. "Did your mother tell you when she'd be home?"

"She said around five." Simon shrugged, walking into the living room and grabbing a book.

"Mom also told me to tell you that Uncle Natsu was gonna be coming over to pick something up for Jin." Hana said following Erza into the kitchen. "And that you had to put dinner in the oven right when we get home so dinner can be ready when she gets home."

Erza nodded and did as instructed before leaning on the counter. "Did she tell you what Natsu was going to pick up?"

Hana paused and thought for a moment. "She told Simon." She said finally.

"It's on the coffee table." Simon called, sitting on the sofa and tossing the book onto the coffee table.

"How was _your _job, Mama?" Hana asked, looking up at her mother. "Did you get a new scar?"

Erza chuckled and leaned over to adjust Hana's bow. "It was relatively easy."

"When can I go with you on an S-class mission?"

Erza paused, as if she were pretending to think. "Maybe when _you're _an S-Class wizard as well."

Hana frowned and wrinkled her nose.

"Don't be that way." Erza sighed, bending down slightly to make eye contact with her youngest daughter. "You know why you can't go on an S-Class job."

Hana's shoulders slumped as she hung her head in disappointment. "Yeah, I know." She perked up almost instantly. "But I can go with you on your regular jobs, though! Right?"

Erza let out a soft laugh and nodded.

* * *

Simon was seventeen when he became S-rank. He stood on the stage in the guild, his hands behind his back and his small, crooked smile was plaster on his face as he allowed the others to applaud him. His mothers were standing behind him, both of them practically glowing with pride as they watched their son accept the title.

The guild broke out in cheers and everyone who was of age was drinking. Simon hopped off the stage with Erza and Mira behind him before turning around and engulfing them both in a tight hug. Tears seeped from his eyes as he pulled his mothers close.

"I'm so proud of you." Mira smiled, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm just happy that I didn't have to fight either of you." Simon replied, his voice calm despite the absolute joy in his eyes.

"Were you afraid we'd go easy on you?" Erza said with a smirk.

"No, I might have had to go easy on you." Simon puffed out his chest before a ball of fire came hurling toward him.

Both Erza and Mira deflected the flames effortlessly, while Simon dodged them. He flipped halfway through the air and managed to kick the source of the flames, a girl with pale pink hair and bright blue eyes, in the gut, sending her through a table. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and landed in front of his mothers.

"Jin is always doing that." He sighed, glancing back at the girl.

"Their relationship reminds me of something…" Mira elbowed her wife gently, causing the woman to look down.

"What?"

"You and Natsu!"

Erza was silent before nodding. "Simon is me, though, right?"

"He wasn't thrown through a table."


End file.
